Bearly Departed is the first book in the Shamelessly Adorable Teddy Bear Mystery series and what' s not to love about a book set around a teddy bear factory at least until a murder happens. Sasha has to solve a murder and keep her family's factory open. And keep her uncle out of jail. I loved this one. I loved Sasha's relationship with her sister that they were close as well as the rest of the family. And I loved learning about making teddy bears.

Bearly Departed is a cute new cozy mystery set in a small town just outside of Ann Arbor, Michigan. The setting is a teddy bear manufacturing facility and storefront The Silver Bear Shop and Factory. The main character, Alexandra "Sasha" Silverman manages the shop and her sister, Madeline "Maddie" Silverman does the bookkeeping and marketing. The factory is supervised by their uncle Ross. When salesman Will Taylor makes a surprise visit and proclaims that sales are down, layoffs are imminent, and that Sasha and Maddie's dad approved to move some of the production offshore. Tempers flare and words are spoken that come back and bite the speakers after Will is found dead in the factory. In an effort to clear the names of those suspected in Will's murder, Sasha starts sleuthing on her own, much to the chagrin of Detective Mason.

A clever who-done-it, Bearly Departed kept me entertained and engaged in the story. Meg Macy delivered a well-written story with a unique setting in a fictional small town in southeast Michigan. As a lifelong Michigander I enjoy a good story, in any genre, that is based in my state. I enjoyed the personalities of each character introduced to us in the book. The book was descriptive well developed, allowing me to visualize the elements of the story, characters, and locations. The characters and situations were believable and the pacing of the story was steady.

I enjoyed Bearly Departed, found the mystery interesting, the characters likable, and the story's pacing to be on target. There were some family dynamics that were introduced in book 1 and I'd love to see the author explore them more in future installments. I look forward to book 2 in the Teddy Bear Mystery series.

When Will Taylor, the sales rep for The Silver Bear Shop and Factory, turns up dead on the factory floor, store manager Sasha Silverman finds herself digging for clues to prove her Uncle’s innocence after some rather heated threats makes him the prime suspect. If that weren’t enough, the murder has shut down her business on a holiday weekend, her parents seem to have gone AWOL, half her staff is quitting or suspected of criminal activity and she has to ask her cheating ex-husband for help.

This was a terrific first installment of a new series. Sasha did a fantastic job of taking us on a tour of her small Michigan town and introducing us to her neighbors. By the time the book was finished we were old friends, caught up on the old gossip and we know just who to keep an eye on in the coming books. I am sure I am not the only reader who wishes she could pop online and pick up a teddy bear. Meg Macy has written a small town atmosphere with a modern day vibe and while shop names may be cutesy there is very little cliche here.

The backbone of this story is the teddy bear factory and the family that runs it. The behind-the-scenes of a teddy bear factory fit in nicely with the unwinding clues, providing the perfect balance of story and mystery. It is quite an enjoyable read with lots of false trails and red herrings to keep the readers fully engaged.

A really cute, cozy mystery with bears abound! Sasha is the manager of the Silver Bear Shop for her parents . When Will Taylor, a sales rep begins trying to make changes to the business and is found murdered in their factory, Sasha's Uncle Will becomes the main suspect. Sasha knows this can't be possible so she is determined to find the real killer. I really enjoyed this mystery and look forward to more books in this series.

As a cozy mystery, this book was enjoyable. But at times, the book was all over the place with themes and characters. There were so many random characters, I kept getting confused about who was who. It took a while to get to the actual murder, then solving it, and then the book practically ended immediately. But overall, it was a nice and quick read.

*Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington Books for the ARC, for which I have given an honest and unbiased review*

Sasha and her sister Maddie have been operating the Silver Shop and Factory for years. When their sales rep tells them he has spoken with their father and the production will be moving out of the country, the sisters are defiant. Over their dead bodies, they exclaim. When the sales rep's dead body is found in the factory a few days later, Sasha and Maddie know they need to find the killer.

The bear factory is an adorable premise and the mystery is clever. I have an issue with so many named characters that do not move the mystery forward.

I liked Bearly Departed. I found the mystery interesting and that the story line took me to some unexpected places. I will admit that the author does spend A LOT of page space on developing the background. You will probably learn more than you wanted about the stuffed animal business and how they are made. From a business point, it made sense and seemed accurate.

What didn't ring true was how the character of Will was handled. Sasha and her sister are the children of the owner and are the onsite management staff. The sister handles the books and never tells Sasha how much Will is being paid? There are major issues with Will and they can't seem to address the problem with their father (prior to the issues preventing communication that come up in this book)? There's so much realistic business detail that this weirdness really stood out.

I can see the business detail turning me off as a reader and giving a lower review, but it worked for me in this case. Despite my issues with how the family dealt with Will, I did like Bearly Departed.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I got an ARC of this book from netgalley and Kensington Publishing.

Sasha Silverman is busy running her family owned business the Silver Bear Shop and Factory. The company's sales rep Will Taylor is discussing some major changes at the factory that include some staff cuts, and sending the manufacturing over seas. Tempers are boiling over and Sasha or her sister Maddie can't seem to get in touch with their parents.

When the sisters discover Will's body in the bear factory, everyone becomes a suspect in his murder. The cop's main suspect is the girl's Uncle Ross but Sasha isn't buying that for a minute. No matter how angry Ross gets he would never kill anyone.. When Sasha launche her own investigation into the murder she discovers that Will had quite a number of enemies.

The story has an interesting premise with interesting characters, with a storyline that is intriguing and captivating.

Stuffed bears, cozy shop, and an owner that winds up dead.... how I love really cute cozy mysteries with hard to solve cases and main characters that are just too real for words. First on a series I hope continues, this cute, twisted story is a romp into mayhem. Take your bear, a cup of coffee, and enjoy this tale!!

A cozy mystery with her sales manager becoming the corpse, found in her parents' bear factory, Sasha has to take it upon herself to investigate and find out the killer.
Meg Macy has done a great job in writing this, her descriptions were great, could almost envision the story. There were a few parts in the story which dragged the story down and were probably, but on the whole the book works well in this genre
Sasha as the main character stands out, she is bold and gutsy and she has no problems in shaking anyone's roots to dig to the truth.
A good start to the series, I would be wanting to see what the author does in the future books.

First off, I love teddy bears. When I'm given a cozy centered around a small town, family owned teddy bear factory, I'm a very happy reader. Summer in Michigan, a teddy bear picnic, and then a body of an employee turns up dead on the factory floor. In order to save the business, Sasha and her sister juggle teddy bears, a picnic, dead bodies and family issues while racing against the clock to find the killer. If the police don't remove the crime scene tap ASAP, the factory will be done for. I'll be looking forward to another entry in this series. One can never get enough teddy bears.

Great beginning to a fresh and original new cozy mystery.

The small family-owned Silver Bear Shop and factory is in the middle of tumult. Sasha Silverman is now running things, after having divorced her husband of one year and returning to Michigan, allowing her parents to retire. Still a solid family business, her sister Maddie handles the paperwork and artsy designs, and her uncle is in charge of the shop. But, before he left Sasha in charge, her father hired a Sales Rep, one Will Taylor, a brash ‘sales guy’ who while not oozing slime, is distasteful enough to keep everyone on edge when he’s around. When Will announces at a staff meeting that production is moving to China and jobs will be lost, everyone is in an uproar. And nothing that Sasha can do or say, especially when she can’t roust her parents on the phone, have everyone upset. And then, Will is found dead, on the factory floor, bear stuffing in his mouth.

Oh from first to last, Sasha was wonderful and the whole concept of the bears, patterns, special events (Teddy Bear Picnic and a Tea Party in planning) are wonderful, and her determination to ask questions, many just in trying to settle the events in her own mind, keep the story moving forward. With one employee hiding her past, another in jail for drug possession, a missing neighbor and Will’s list of infidelities coming to light, not to mention his own marital issues, the potential for ‘who did it” are rife.

Twists and turns galore, with another body that hints to drugs and the ongoing worries about her father’s health and her mother’s lack of support in keeping the business open, the story twists and turns. Then her ex shows up, flashy and brash, and her sister Maddie seems to be out of sorts. Shorthanded in the factory, secrets coming out about nearly everyone in town and a final confrontation lead to the murderer, with one final showdown. A wonderfully clever story that brought Teddy Bears to the forefront – with plenty of descriptions, information and even a tour for the Girl Scouts, Meg Macy’s first book brought characters, twists, tension and a ton of cute to the table, and had me racing through the pages to get to the end. With several new options for many of the characters we met, I can’t wait to read the next.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at <a href=”http://wp.me/p3OmRo-9oq/”> <a> I am, Indeed </a>

I’m a huge fan of cozies, but with so many on the market—they all start to read the same, but the premise and the unique theme—teddy bears—really drew me in so I was really excited to read this, and I have to say that I really enjoyed it! Sasha, the main character, was very savvy and clever. I liked her personality and I found her really relatable. The mystery itself was very well-plotted and intriguing. It kept my interest, and the ending wasn’t predictable.

The small-town life—from the town itself and the characters in it—were all charming and endearing. They all felt like real people with real problems, and the town reminded me of my own hometown. As I was reading, I kept get nostalgic.

Overall, it’s a very cool new cozy series! I enjoyed the mystery and the characters, and I cant wait for the next installment.

I enjoyed this first book the Teddy Bear Mystery Series. Sasha and her Sister are running the Family owned Silver Bear Factory and Shop in small town Michigan. Will, the Sales Rep however has other plans for the business. When his body is found in the factory and the evidence points to their Uncle as the murderer she sets out to solve the crime. The town and the characters are fun but I did feel like there were too many characters. We are introduced to the entire town of shop owners and they all had a reason to dislike Will. The mystery and the solution were good but I was able to figure out the killer. I did like it that she worked with police. The author did a good job with setting and the Teddy Bear background. I look for word to reading the next book in the series and visiting the town. Enjoy

Nice book, to many characters in it though, but I did like the premise of the bear making factory in the story.  Sasha is a good character.  However it is a good start to a fun series.

This was a nice first book in a new series. Silver Hollow, Michigan sounds like a nice vacation spot with a great Teddy Bear shop and interesting residents.

I found that the book kept my interest from the first few pages and I didn't want to put it down until I finished. Just enough twists and turns with engaging characters. I look forward to watching the characters develop.

The family business started by Sasha and Maddie's father, and all the employees, are threatened by the actions of one person - and then he's dead and they're all suspects, especially Uncle Ross. The detective, while helpful, isn't working to clear Uncle Ross fast enough and Sasha decides to help him out - after all the business and production line are closed down so she has time on her hands.

There are lots of twists and secrets revealed, not only about Will, but also Maddie's hopes for the future and tensions between Sasha and Maddie's parents. The Teddy Bear parade ends with the discovery of a second body and the pace quickens. The ending makes sense and Macy ties up loose ends nicely.

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book in the hopes that I would post an honest review as part of this blog tour. This has not affected the content of my review in any way.

Sasha Silverman and her family own a teddy bear shop in Silver Hollow, Michigan. She and her sister Maddie run the shop, along with her Uncle Ross who heads production; and they also have several employees. One of these employees is their sales rep Will Taylor, who's a thorn in everyone's side and has just returned from a business trip.

It seems on this particular trip he met their father, and now tells everyone that they're possibly moving production to China which will lower costs - and means that employees will lose their positions. Sasha is determined that this will never happen, but before she can speak with her father, Will is murdered - found dead in their shop with his mouth full of stuffing.

While at first it seems her uncle is the most likely to have killed Will, when details of his life are made public the suspect list starts growing, and soon there's enough of them to put her uncle all but in the clear. It also doesn't help when Sasha's cheating ex-husband turns up unexpectedly, and she finds out he's moving back home. Trouble looms for both the shop and Sasha, and now she has to decide how to tackle both situations without losing either her living or her sanity...

I really wanted to like this book more than I did. It had a cute premise (a teddy bear shop) and a mystery to boot. But it just had Too Much Detail. Too much detail on homes and businesses, and too many characters. The amount became staggering, and unfortunately, because of that none of the characters had any depth. I didn't really care for Sasha or her family. Her mother even came off as rather unlikable, so it wouldn't pain me not to see her in future books.

While I understand this is a first book, and we know they need to be tweaked, I felt without this much detail the book would have been more interesting, and we would have really been able to 'sink our teeth' into the murder. But without character development, it's hard to know or care about them.

When the murderer was discovered, while it was no big surprise the ending was satisfactory. Also, the writing is good, and the idea of a teddy bear shop has promise, so I hope to see that the author continues with this series.

The little town of Silver Hollow, Michigan, is the setting for the first book, Bearly Departed, by Meg Macy. We are introduced to sisters, Alexandra aka Sasha, and Madison aka Maddy, grand-daughters of T. R. Silverman who established the Silver Bear Shop and Factory. While Sasha is a promoter and does tours of the factory, Maddie deals with the office duties and designs many of the cute little bear decorations. In this first book we find Will Taylor the sales representative for Silver Bear Shop causing grief among the entire staff. He is insisting on reducing jobs, sending production over seas, and cutting tours. Sasha doesn’t back down and stands up for the rights of her employees and to keep the production in the factory at Silver Hollow. Megs approach to building to the mystery and Sasha’s sleuthing factor is captivating and guarantees the reader will find it hard to put the book down.